EMILY SONNETT XAVIER WOODS GOV. ROY BARNES CAROLYN MEADOWS
FACTBOOK 2020 29
he has turned his sights to television, winning acclaim for directing
live TV versions of musicals like “The Wiz” and “Hairspray.”
Another Tony winner, singer and actor Shuler Paul Hensley, grew up
in Marietta.
Cobb-based artist Thomas Arvid has received national acclaim for
his photorealistic oil paintings.
Novelist Wendy Wax has written numerous works, including
“Sunshine Beach,” “A Week at the Lake,” “While We Were Watching
Downton Abbey,” “The House on Mermaid Point,” “Ocean Beach”
and “Ten Beach Road.” She lives in east Cobb.
Billy Joe Royal, who wrote “Down in the Boondocks,” grew up
in Marietta, and producer Michael Len Williams II, known professionally
as Mike Will Made It, was born in Marietta and went on to
produce records by acts including Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce and
Miley Cyrus.
SPORTS
Cobb has seen many successful athletes come from within its
borders, including a recent World Cup champion: Emily Sonnett,
part of the U.S. team that won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,
calls Marietta home.
Another soccer star from Cobb, Jane Campbell, was the youngest
goalkeeper ever called to a national training camp for the senior
United States women’s national soccer team. She was born in Kennesaw.
Olympic gold medalist and hurdler Aries Merritt, PGA Tour player,
and former No. 1 ranked amateur golfer, Ollie Schniederjans and
Atlanta Braves shortstop pick Dansby Swanson also hail from Cobb.
Marietta native David Hale pitches for the Yankees.
Cobb has recently sent a number of players to the NFL, including
back-to-back first-round draft picks. Bradley Chubb was selected
with the No. 5 overall selection last year by the Denver Broncos,
while Evan Engram went with the No. 23 pick 2017 to the New York
Giants. Both players went to Hillgrove High School. Kenyan Drake,
who plays for the Miami Dolphins makes it three former Hillgrove
stars in the NFL.
Other Cobb players in the league include South Cobb’s Justin
Jones with the Los Angeles Chargers, Kell’s Brendan Langley with
the Denver Broncos and McEachern’s Kofi Amichia with the Green
Bay Packers.
The NBA currently has two former Cobb stars quickly making a
name for themselves. Wheeler’s Jaylen Brown is entering his fourth
year with the Boston Celtics, and Pebblebrook’s Collin Sexton was
the first-round selection of the Cleveland Cavaliers in summer 2018.
Former Harrison High School quarterback Justin Fields got his
college football start at UGA before joining the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Other Cobb athletes of note include quarterback Eric Zeier,
who played for Marietta High School before going on to play at the
University of Georgia and the NFL. Three-time major champion
and World Golf Hall of Famer Larry Nelson has lived here. Retired
Atlanta United defender Mark Bloom was born in Marietta.
Retired NBA all-star Dale Ellis was a three-point sharpshooter
who played throughout the NBA and at Marietta High School.
Former Kell and Georgia track and field standout Kendell Williams
won seven NCAA championships and represented the United
States in the 2016 Olympics as a competitor in the heptathlon.
Cody Runnels turned a successful wrestling career at Lassiter
High School into years of professional wrestling. He wrestles as
Cody Rhodes and serves as an executive for the new All Elite Wrestling
organization.
Former Sprayberry wrestler Austin Watson has achieved great
notoriety with World Wrestling Entertainment under the name of
Xavier Woods.
POLITICS
Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes grew up in Mableton and lives
in Marietta, where his law firm is based.
Former Attorney General Sam Olens lives in Marietta and now
works as an attorney for the global law firm Dentons.
Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson represented Cobb in the
state Legislature for years before taking office on the federal level. He
lives in east Cobb when he is not in D.C.
Other notable political locals include former U.S. Speaker of the
House Newt Gingrich, former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr and Gen. Lucius
D. Clay, a hero of the Berlin Airlift.
The late Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harris Hines spent
most of his life in Marietta, where a bridge was dedicated in his
honor in 2019.
Carolyn Meadows, an east Cobb native, is president of the National
Rifle Association.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo Jr. grew
up in Marietta. McAdoo is notable for serving as United States president
for one day while President Woodrow Wilson and everyone
else in the line of succession was out of Washington for Christmas.
OTHER
One of the co-founders of the Parent Teacher Association of
America, Alice McLellan Birney, was born in Marietta.